Shaping the design research revolution
Year: 2013
Editor: Udo Lindemann, Srinivasan V, Yong Se Kim, Sang Won Lee, John Clarkson, Gaetano Cascini
Author: Dorst, Kees
Series: ICED
Institution: University of Technology Sydney, Eindhoven University of Technology
Page(s): 173-182
ISBN: 978-1-904670-45-2
ISSN: 2220-4334
Abstract
In 2008 the author published a paper that critiqued the state of design research. It contained an anatomy of design research, analysed its assumptions and considered the anomalies that were emerging at the time, making a case for revolutionizing the field, and mapped out two directions for further development. Over the last 5 years, that paper has sparked keen interest and it has been quoted extensively. In this paper we will pick up the thread and report on the development of a research centre that embodies some of the changes proposed in the paper, shaping a specific version the design research revolution. This paper is built up as follows: first, the arguments of the original paper will be retraced briefly. Then the question that drives the exploration of the current paper will be elaborated and the central case study will be introduced, by describing the methodological research program and the applied research centre that serves as its platform. We will end with an informal evaluation, and position the conclusions within the broader discussion on the role of academic research in today’s society.
Keywords: Research, methodology, design thinking, frame creation